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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · mate · march · bound · stem · row · clip · bark

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. row — a line
  3. clip — a video
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bound — certain
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mate — a friend
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stem — to come from
  13. march — music
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. march — the month
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bound — tied together
  21. mate — a partner
  22. march — the month
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bark — to shout

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com